Marhaba! My name is Xenia, but most people call me Xeni (ZENY), or to my Arabic friends and teachers I am known as Zeena. I am a junior at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where I study art history, Arabic, and Middle East studies. On campus I work as an English writing tutor and as a student project manager at Dickinson’s center for lectures, organize events for Arabic Club, take music lessons and play in ensembles, and serve as the president of my college’s chapter of Orthodox Christian Fellowship. This semester I will be sharing my adventures in Jordan with you as a Fall 2022 blogger. In my banner photo, you see me in the Roman Amphitheater in Amman (photo credit: Elizabeth Wagar)!

In my free time I love to bake, practice yoga, read, visit art museums, and spend time with my cats and chickens. My interest in Arabic even finds a way into my family. In fact, my family just got a new cat this summer, and I gave him the name “Habibi,” which is an Arabic name that means beloved or dear one. I knew it was the perfect name for him because the first time we met him, he flopped onto his back and wanted a belly rub. He immediately trusted us and wanted all of our love.

A picture with me and Habib. He loves to snuggle with me and my brother. Photo credit: Alexandra Makosky, 2022

Ever since I applied to college, I knew that I wanted to study abroad in the Middle East. In fact, two-thirds of Dickinson students study abroad in more than 50 different programs in 24 countries. When my departure date arrived, however, I was hesitant and scared to leave my comfort zone. There were so many unknowns ahead of me, and no matter how much advice I had received from other students and friends, I knew I would face many unexpected challenges. Spending the next few months abroad is also a new experience for me, as I am from Carlisle, the same town Dickinson is located in. For the last 20 years of my life I have lived and studied within the same 10 mile radius! Carlisle is also a small town in Pennsylvania, and my family lives in an agricultural area. My family lives on 5 acres of land with our own gardens, barn, chickens, and beehives. City living, to say the least, is not something I am accustomed to!

I have studied Arabic for the last three years with at least 12 different teachers including Middlebury Interactive Languages, the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), the Critical Language Scholarship program (CLS), private tutoring, and my amazing Arabic teachers at Dickinson. This is, however, my first time in the Middle East. Generally, I feel linguistically prepared to be in Amman, but none of my classes or programs could have fully prepared me for life here with the crazy traffic, overflowing markets, full streets, and weather that is over 100 Fahrenheit.

Thankfully the staff at Amideast and my host family are incredibly welcoming, helpful, and kind. Since arriving a few days ago, my host family has cooked me delicious Jordanian meals and sweets, gone shopping with me, and taken me on a driving tour of Amman. I know, however, that there will be challenges ahead as I adjust to a new culture. For now, however, I am thankful that I have the opportunity to spend the fall semester living abroad and plan to embrace every new and unexpected circumstance with courage.

Upon arriving at my house the first day my host mother had a traditional Levantine dish known as maqluba waiting for me. Maqluba means “upside down,” and refers to how this dish is made upside down and then flipped and served. Photo credit: Makosky, 2022.

In fact, just before I left for Jordan I came across this Nelson Mandela quote in a book: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear.” Every day I wake up and I am unaware of the obstacles ahead of me, regardless if I am in the U.S. or Jordan, but especially here in a new environment, I am particularly unaware and vulnerable to barriers ahead of me. For example, on only my second day in Amman, I had to navigate my way home for the first time, and that same day I had to talk to an employee in Arabic about data and choosing a phone plan. Living in a different country 6,000 miles away can be scary, but as one of my good friends told me earlier this summer, sometimes we have to do things scared. I will have to do a lot of things scared here in Amman, but every day I want to choose courage by embracing my fears and acting.

As one of our last activities for the week, we went on a quick tour of major sites in Amman. Here is our fall cohort on Rainbow Street, a famous street in Amman. We are a small yet mighty group. Photo Credit: Saad Al Saffarini, 2022.

I cannot wait to share the next few months with you all. There are so many more exciting adventures ahead!

Xenia Makosky is a student from Dickinson College participating on Amideast’s Area and Arabic Language Studies program in Amman, Jordan in Fall 2022.